CNDDB News Blog

Lime Ridge eriastrum (Eriastrum ertterae)
Photo credit: Jeb Bjerke, CDFW

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has initiated a status review for Lime Ridge eriastrum (Eriastrum ertterae). Lime Ridge eriastrum is a low-growing herbaceous annual plant that was first discovered in 2003. It is currently only known to occur within Lime Ridge Open Space in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa County, and has a California Rare Plant Rank of 1B.1 (rare, threatened, or endangered throughout its range).

Lime ridge eriastrum is now a candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA) and will therefore receive the same legal protection afforded to an endangered or threatened species. As of March 4, 2022, take of this species is prohibited without an appropriate permit for scientific, educational or management purposes. For more information on permitting, visit our CESA permits web page.

During the first part of this status review process, CDFW will accept any data on the species' ecology, genetics, life history, distribution, abundance, habitat, and threats, as well as comments on current and future management of the species. The call for data ends on August 12, 2022. CDFW will review the petition, evaluate the available information, and report back to the Fish and Game Commission on whether the petitioned action is warranted. For more specifics on the process and timing, please read our Eriastrum public notice letter (PDF).

If you have any questions or can provide us with any information, please email us at nativeplants@wildlife.ca.gov.

Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) on the sandy desert floor of the Mojave Desert
Photo credit: Clayton Harrison/Shutterstock

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will be conducting a status review for the desert tortoise to inform the California Fish and Game Commission's decision on whether to uplist the species from threatened to endangered under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). More details about the uplist proposal and CDFW's request for public comments may be found in our CDFW newsletter. As part of this process, the CNDDB would like to encourage anyone who has observed desert tortoises to submit their findings to us before August 1st.

The desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) is found in the Mojave Desert, the western Sonoran Desert and the southern Great Basin Desert. They spend much of the year underground in burrows to shelter from extreme temperatures. When they do emerge, they feed on native forbs and grasses. Their densities have declined drastically in many places in California in the past 20 years. Threats include habitat fragmentation, development in these desert regions, increasing drought due to climate change, invasive grasses out-competing food items preferred by tortoise, disease, predation by coyotes and ravens, and human-caused mortality.

We need your help in better understanding the status of the desert tortoise. If you have ever seen desert tortoises in the wild, submit your findings to us through our Online Field Survey Form. Together, we can help the Fish and Game Commission make an informed decision on the uplisting proposal for the desert tortoise.